The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been action-packed as the group stages came to an end on Wednesday.
A total of 36 games were played, with 16 teams advancing to the knockout rounds, set to begin on Saturday, January 27, 2024. Here are some interesting facts about the group stages that have caught the attention of football fans:
1. An impressive 89 goals were scored in the group stages, averaging 2.4 goals per match.
2. Emilo Nsue, the captain of Equatorial Guinea, leads the goal-scoring charts with five goals, followed by Mostafa Mohammed of Egypt and Baghdad Bounedjah of Algeria with three goals each. It’s worth noting that Nsue plays as a defender for his club, CF Intercity, in Spain’s third-tier league.
3. Cameroon’s Georges-Kevin N’koudou and Equatorial Guinea’s Jose Machin lead the assists chart with three assists each.
4. Interestingly, every game played at the AFCON had seen at least one goal scored before January 24, but on that particular day, three games ended in scoreless draws.
5. Senegal is the only team to have won all three games in the group stages.
6. Equatorial Guinea scored the most goals (9) in the group stages, followed by Senegal with eight goals.
7. Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Gambia conceded the most number of goals (7) in the group stages, and all three teams were eliminated.
8. Namibia and Mauritania reached the knockout round for the first time in their football history, marking a historic achievement for both nations.
9. There have been four red cards in the tournament so far, adding to the drama on the field.
10. The game between Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau recorded six goals, making it the highest-scoring match of the tournament.
With the knockout rounds about to commence, football enthusiasts can look forward to more thrilling matches and exciting moments as the journey to be crowned champions of AFCON 2023 continues.
